1. The incidence of bladder cancer has been high in recent decades and is increasing year by year. So, which factors in life are most likely to cause bladder cancer?
It is well known that smoking is related to lung cancer, but people may not be aware that smoking is also related to bladder cancer. In developed countries, bladder cancer caused by smoking accounts for 50%-60% of all bladder cancers, which has become the most important causative factor of bladder cancer. Smoking is one of the culprits of bladder cancer!
2.Why does smoking cause bladder cancer?
Tobacco contains a large number of toxic substances, among which the main ones closely related to bladder cancer are aromatic amines and acrolein, and the pyrolysis products of these compounds are strong carcinogens of bladder cancer.
3.How much does the incidence of bladder cancer increase in smokers?
A large number of studies have shown that the risk of bladder cancer in smokers is four times higher than that in nonsmokers, and the risk of bladder cancer increases with the increase in the number of cigarettes smoked and the increase in the age of smoking. Some people calculate that if you smoke 5 more cigarettes a day, the risk of bladder cancer will increase by 18%; for every 5 years of smoking time, the risk of bladder cancer will increase by 14%.
4.If you smoke passively (second-hand smoke), will you be prone to get bladder cancer?
A multicenter study of 432 bladder cancer patients and 392 controls strongly suggests that whether they are smoking, have quit smoking, or are passive smokers, they have 1.89, 1.38, and 1.88 times increased risk of bladder cancer, respectively, compared to nonsmokers.
No matter how old you are when you start smoking, it increases the chance of developing bladder cancer.
Whether you are young or not, just smoking can cause bladder cancer in yourself, your family and others! Smoking less or even not smoking passively is one of the very most important means of preventing bladder cancer from occurring! If older smokers quit smoking as soon as possible, the likelihood of bladder cancer will be significantly reduced!
5.Bladder cancer is mostly found in men, can women get bladder cancer?
In China, bladder cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the urinary system, accounting for 3.2% of all malignant tumors in the body, and is more common in men, with a male to female ratio of 4:1.
6.Is there any relationship between smoking and bladder cancer in women?
The Diet and Health Study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) found, through 11 years of follow-up, that previous smokers (119.8 cases/100,000. years, HR=2.22) and current smokers (177.3 cases/100,000. years, HR=4.06) had a higher risk of bladder cancer than never smokers (39.8 cases/100,000. years). years). Compared with analysis of data from the 1963-1987 US cohort, this study showed that the relative risk of bladder cancer was higher with smoking and that the attributable risk in the female population was essentially equivalent to that in the male population.
Smoking in women was also associated with breast cancer, gastrointestinal tract tumors, and gynecologic tumors.
7. Besides smoking, what other factors may cause bladder cancer?
In addition to smoking mentioned above, another important causative factor is occupational factors. Workers in dyestuff, rubber, tanning and auto repair occupations have a higher incidence of bladder cancer. Workers in these occupations have a higher chance of exposure to carcinogens such as benzidine. In addition, certain drugs, genetic mutation and other factors are also causative factors of bladder cancer.
8.What are the common symptoms of bladder cancer?
The most common symptom of bladder cancer is hematuria in the form of “flesh-washing water”, usually without pain and other accompanying symptoms. The hematuria is mostly intermittent, and often will be relieved by itself after a few days (times), which can easily give people the illusion of “cure”. Especially after taking certain drugs, it is easy to think that the treatment is effective, thus delaying the time of diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, if middle-aged and elderly people have unexplained hematuria, they should not take it lightly and go to the hospital in time to clarify the cause of hematuria.
9.How to diagnose bladder cancer?
Ultrasonography is one of the non-invasive methods for preliminary diagnosis of bladder cancer. In addition, CT and cystoscopy can further clarify it.
10.How to treat early bladder tumor?
For patients with early bladder cancer, doctors can remove the mass through endoscopy via urethra to achieve the treatment purpose. This surgical method is less invasive, patients recover quickly and some patients can achieve cure. Since the recurrence rate of bladder cancer after surgery is 50%-70%, it is also necessary to instill chemotherapy drugs into the bladder on a regular basis after surgery to reduce the recurrence rate and to regularly review cystoscopy to monitor whether there is recurrence of bladder cancer.
11.How to treat advanced bladder tumor?
Various factors should be considered to choose the appropriate treatment plan, such as total cystectomy + systemic chemotherapy; radiotherapy, etc.
12.Can bladder cancer be prevented?
Smoking is a risk factor for many types of tumors, and it is also the primary risk factor for bladder cancer. Currently, quitting smoking is the most effective way to prevent bladder cancer. Reducing tobacco consumption is an important step to reduce the incidence of bladder cancer and other tumors. Industrial dyes are a definite risk factor for bladder cancer, and the most effective and easy way to reduce exposure to dyes is to improve the working environment and strengthen daily protection. Other methods such as exercising regularly, maintaining an optimistic mindset, eating more fresh vegetables and fruits, increasing water consumption, avoiding artificial colors and artificial sweeteners (mainly saccharin), actively preventing and treating chronic cystitis and bladder stones, and changing poor lifestyles such as holding urine and smoking to avoid exposure to disease-causing factors may reduce the incidence of bladder cancer.